Protecting families from contaminated food and water
All fields are required
Protecting families from contaminated food and water
Posted in Our Blog on July 11, 2026
Have you cracked an egg and found that the egg white isn’t, well, white?
Clear. Maybe. Cloudy. Sure.
But what about green, pink, or fluorescent yellow? A recent viral Tik Tok biologist explains this is a sign of a serious foodborne germ.
Pseudomonas.
How do you know if you have a bad egg?
Let’s explore!
A viral video has been circulating about egg white colors. The source? Alexotherium. A self-professed biologist Tik Tok personality that breaks down interesting science facts on the short video platform.
As a food safety content writer, and egg consumer, this topic caught my attention.
He explains that off colors in egg whites are a sign that the egg is contaminated with a scary germ.
Not Salmonella. The most famous bacteria associated with eggs and chickens.
But Pseudomonas.
When this bacterial species grows in eggs, it alters the appearance of the egg white. A sign that something is wrong and to avoid eating it.
The albumen, or non-yolk part of the egg is a significant part of the egg, is the subject of this phenomenon. It can, in some cases, let you know if something is wrong with the egg.
To understand when an egg may be bad, you first need to know what a normal egg looks like.
I’m sure we all have an idea of what the typical egg looks like.
Oval shell (white, brown, blue, green, and several shades in between). Dense middle (yolk) and runny outer parts (whites).
But what if something looks a little different? It could be a perfectly normal anomaly. Or it could be signs of illness causing bacteria.
On a raw egg, the egg white should be cloudy or clear.
Cloudy egg whites are a sign that the egg is very fresh. The normally clear part becomes cloudy when naturally occurring carbon dioxide introduced during the egg laying process is still present.
If an egg has been sitting for a little while, the egg white will be clear in color.
You may be alarmed at finding a white, stringy substance in your egg. But I assure you. This is perfectly normal.
Often seen in very fresh eggs, this “chalazae” anchors the yolk in place.
It does not need to be removed and will beat and/or cook just fine.
While unsightly, blood spots are also a natural part of a safe egg.
These blood spots form when one or more of the small blood vessels in the chicken rupture during ovulation.
The color of the yolk can change based on what the hen eats. For example, a diet that includes yellow-orange pigmented plants like marigolds and yellow corn can make a darker yellow.
You may see a muted yellow if the hen mostly consumed a colorless diet.
The greenish color on an egg yolk can be a sign of overcooking and the presence of sulfur and iron compounds in the egg or cooking water.
These are not signs of a bad egg.
Certain off colors of egg whites can indicate the presence of harmful Pseudomonas bacteria as well as other spoilage bacteria.
In some cases, gas accumulation can even cause “egg bombs.” Where the egg will literally detonate or explode when the gases exceed the space inside the egg.
I’m a chicken tender myself, and sometimes our girls decide to be Easter bunnies and hide their eggs. Most of the time, I give them back if I don’t know how long they have been sitting outside. Unfortunately, they can transform into egg bombs over time. All it takes is a small movement or touch and smelly rotten egg splatters everywhere. It is a smell you will not soon forget.
Most of the time, Pseudomonas infections are associated with infected wounds. In these types of infections, you will see redness on the skin, abscesses, and draining wounds.
If a contaminated egg white gets on open wounds or sores, you may experience this type of infection.
Foodborne illness symptoms often involve headache, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Typical intestinal illness.
However, complications arise when bacteria breach the intestinal wall and make it into the bloodstream. This leads to a potentially life-threatening illness known as bacteremia.
Pseudomonas bacteria symptoms may include:
In some cases, Pseudomonas bacteremia can impact the blood pressure. Dramatically dropping it into what is called hemodynamic shock. This can cause additional organ failure and impact the heart, kidneys, liver, and others.
Some people are more likely to become infected if exposed to Pseudomonas bacteria or are more likely to experience more severe illness if infected.
This is especially dangerous for people with certain conditions including autoimmune conditions like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. Also, people with cancer or undergoing cancer treatment. And those with cystic fibrosis, diabetes, HIV or AIDS, liver or kidney disease, or received an organ transplant. Hormonal changes that take place during pregnancy also impact the immune system’s response against this harmful germ.
To add even more seriousness to the situation, Pseudomonas bacteria are often antibiotic resistant.
This means that the typical medications used to treat bacterial infections no longer work on this germ. This makes a Pseudomonas bacterial infection very difficult to treat.
If you’d like to know more about food safety topics in the news, like “Green or Pink Egg White Can Make You Sick! How Do You Know If You Have a Bad Egg?,” check out the Make Food Safe Blog. We regularly update trending topics, foodborne infections in the news, recalls, and more! Stay tuned for quality information to help keep your family safe, while The Lange Law Firm, PLLC strives to Make Food Safe!
By: Heather Van Tassell (contributing writer, non-lawyer)